It all started when my friend asked me last week, “Vignesh, in India, you don’t have aspirateur?” to which I responded with a proud, “why of course we do! We even have one at my parent’s place.” And then comes in response, “then why don’t people use it? I thought it didn’t exist in India. People use that thing, why?”

What thing, you might wonder. It is none other than the Indian broom stick, or jhaadu, or thodappa kattai. This blog post is just about its history, geography, therapy, and more! But while I kept thinking “oh this would make an amazing blog post,” I had to respond to my friend who was standing wondering what great logic millions of Indians share about the thodappa kattai. So I put on my thinking hat:

And I tried to come up with an explanation; many in fact:

• No no, in India there’s lot of dust on the floor. And a vacuum cleaner can’t clear it out. Neither does a broom.
• It’s good for health. Really?! Stay bent down, screw up your back, very nicely put.
• We use the vacuum cleaner for removing cobwebs in remote corners of the wall & ceilings. So, that bans you from using it on the floor?
• It’s cheaper to use brooms. You have the darn vacuum cleaner at home already. Why won’t you use it? What’re you trying to conserve, electricity?
• We have servant maids at home. So you can’t train them to be more efficient.

And then it had to be, “we’re just used to it.” Finally, an answer that even I’m sick of. That’s a sure shot conversation winner. But after some time-wasting with google, I figured it is perhaps a style statement. BigStock certainly thinks so:

Thodapamista! There’s a whole series of photos by the way. Visit the page and you’d see how trendy it is!

I think I can actually go on and write a whole new entry about this series of photos. Thin sleeveless blouses, matching handle to the broomstick, kitch colours, it’s perfect for the common Indian bride-seeking boy! Oh darn, I’m deflecting again. Alright, as promised, I present to you, the history, geography, and therapy of it.

History: well I know it comes from the store. Why does it matter who invented it? If you want one, you can buy from Bison Cleaning Products Pvt. Ltd. And their brand name is in fact consitent with my earlier abuse to samosapedia. Another interesting fun fact about the Indian broom is that you have to tune it first. Because the new broom releases more dust than it cleans. In tamizh, we term it poo kottaradu (meaning the falling flowers). I’ve seen the maid in our house scratch the newly purchased broom against a coarse surface until it wears out. Just beats me!

Geography: it seems it isn’t limited to the Indian household. This England-raised Irish Liz Scully woman has extensively written in her smitten dust trilogy, in three parts, namely part one, part two and part three, on India, dusting and maids in India dusting.

Therapy: See photo on top, if it doesn’t help, buy yourself a broom and hit yourself with it. Slipper would also do. Make sure it’s torn. If needed, I will provide you with worn out slipper.

The man is shattering every possible record there is and that’s almost single-handedly. Lebron James’ place in the Hall of Fame is ready for him whenever he wants to hang up those basketball shoes.

He proved how talented he was the last time the Miami Heat faced the New York Knicks; losing by double digits in the 3^rd quarter and winning the game by 6 points.

Dwight Howard might as well give up the Superman persona and give it up to #6.

But personally, I don’t care for Lebron James.

Why you ask?

It all stems from THE DECISION. I’m sure you remember that waste of television programing. A one hour show where Lebron would announce where he would play.

Personally, I found that the entire city of Cleveland was a little too sensitive when they found out what THE DECISION was really about, to such a point that the mayor of the city blamed Lebron for the bad economy.

And I didn’t have a problem with him playing with Bosh and Wade. I mean, the best teams in history are known for a having a spectacular cast. The Bulls had Jordan, Pippen and Rodman who were sometimes known as Superman, Batman and Rodman. The Lakers had Magic, Kareem Abdul Jabar and James Worthy and let’s not forget Boston who had Bird, Kevin McHale and Robert Parish. So it was really a smart move on his part to go ahead and start a dynasty.

But yeah, my problem is really with Jim Gray and Lebron’s ego.

Jim Gray was the one who came up with the idea to do the special, but when in the history of ANY sport has that been done? Why should it have been done? Who was Lebron to get that type of recognition? The man was not even a champion. He was just impressive, but not worthy of that. Not even Jordan, THE GREATEST TO EVER PLAY THE GAME, had been bestowed that honor.

So what is my beef? Jim Gray is one of those people who are trying to make Lebron more than who he is. Scottie Pippen called Lebron the greatest player to ever play the game of basketball. That was a RIDICULOUS statement and I await an apology from Scottie for saying something so grotesque.

John Salley said that now that Lebron won a championship, he was better than Michael Jordan… I don’t even want an apology from him on this one. Insulting him would be wrong of me. Not wrong because I’m insulting him. I’m saying wrong because it would be a really bad insult.

This brings me to the following: #GETLEBRONTODUNK

Twitter is riddled with that.

People are yearning for that man to dunk. And him, he decides that he would taunt them and do a few dunks before games. And now, Magic Johnson is offering $1 million dollars for Lebron to participate in the next Slam Dunk contest.

WHY?

Really and truly, why does the public have to beg for Lebron James to dunk?

Yes, the contest has not been the same since Vince Carter forever killed the hopes of future dunks to even attempt to make an appearance; even with the gimmicks that came along with the Dwight Howard and Blake Griffin performances.

Some say that the Slam Dunk contest, also known as the Dunk Off, has lost its spice. The people who are dunking are not known NBA stars. It’s not like when Dominique Wilkins would go off against Michael Jordan.

It’s a new generation of NBA stars now. They are divas who have to be begged to enter a competition. They can’t decide to go into a contest and entertain. They have to be begged by fans to perform and they have to be bribed by legends.

What’s next? Take away the competition at the next Dunk Off and call it the Lebron show so he will DEFINITELY perform. Might as well. I mean, who will go against Lebron? By his name alone, he wins. It was not like Vince Carter who had to go against Steve Francis. I felt bad for anyone who came up after those guys.

But yeah, I don’t care for Lebron. He is just a diva who demands attention when he goes to tie his shoe. And I won’t talk about the ref assistance he gets.

I feel sorry that it now comes down to this. Magic offering money and the fans begging and all he does is taunt them with dunks before games.

I’m sorry, but in what way is he greater than a true champion that was Michael Jordan?

Think about it…

I stand by my mindset that if the Heat don’t make it farther into the playoffs, I will only root for the east team so long as they are not the Knicks, which is a surprise, because I was

• a) Named after Patrick Ewing (with some underlying reasons as to why my name is Patrick as well, but you know, I’m not my parents, so I don’t know the whole story, nor will I ever, because it changes every so often when my mom tells me)
• b) born and raised in Queens, NYC, New York.

Along with being an avid Heat fan, my favorite basketball players of all time are

1. Dwyane Wade
2. Gilbert Arenas
3. Allen Iverson
4. Dwight Howard
5. LeBron James

Anyway, with the Miami Heat trying to repeat their feat of being the “world champions,” it’s difficult to say who on the Heat deserves the credit for carrying them on this streak. Most of sports media has this as a hot debate topic, and I felt like I should add my flame to the kindling fire.

The Miami Heat is Dwyane Wade’s team. American Airlines Arena is the house that Wade built. No one can take that title from him in my perspective. The Flash recruited LeBron and Bosh, and thereby orchestrated these coming years to be consecutive championship runs.

LeBron is unstoppable, Wade complements LeBron, and Bosh is the anchor.

During this streak, however, without Wade AND LeBron playing in complete sync together and Bosh staying consistent, the streak would not even be spoken of. I find it incomprehensible why the media insists on individualizing the credit for a team game. I mean, if they were speaking of legendary ballhogs Kobe Bryant and Allen Iverson (who are actually renowned passers as well), then it’d be understandable to solely credit them.

For the streak, I give credit to the heart of the team for playing as best as they can.

Comedian Damien Dante Wayans shares his thoughts on Lil Wayne calling out Miami Heat baller Chris Bosh, and the truth behind Wayne saying he hooked up with Bosh’s wife.

James drove to the basket and hit a layup with just three seconds to go in the game to give the Heat the victory, 97-96 over the Orlando Magic. It was one of only four field goals the Heat hit in the final stanza.

The Magic were undermanned against the Heat and saw three players foul out near the end of the game. The Magic had five players score in double-figures and were led by Nicola Vucevic who had 25 points and 21 rebounds in the game.

Jameer Nelson also had 16 points and 14 rebounds in the game for Orlando.

In the fourth quarter, Shane Battier drew a key charge with around a minute to go to erase a late basket for the Magic. The Heat had only three players in double-figures, LeBron, Dwyane Wade, and Chris Bosh.

The Heat’s Big Three combined to score 67 points on a night when Ray Allen and Shane Battier couldn’t get it going from behind the three-point line, hitting just 2-9 from downtown.

LeBron shot 50 percent from the field and missed only one free throw in the game. Bosh added 10 rebounds and three assists and Wade had 24 points, 6 rebounds, and 3 assists in the game.

The victory extended Miami’s winning streak to 16 straight, which is the second-longest in the NBA this year and the longest in franchise history.

What do you think about it?

-Marty F. Nemec

After the Miami Heat released their Harlem Shake video the whole world was at a buzz. This is the response of the Minnesota Timberwolves to Miami’s Harlem Shake video.

The Heat continued their post all star winning streak and are up to 14 games after a win over the Knicks recently. They took some time off to get into the Harlem shake fad.

Lately the Heat are looking unbeatable and LeBron is definitely making his case for the sole runner for MVP, especially after beating Kevin Durant’s Thunder team by 10 points and many other contending teams on this run. It’s a pretty exciting time to be a Heat fan. Looks like they are gearing up for the playoffs in a couple months.

They play Minnesota tomorrow.

Let’s see five years ago, though they were tough I decided why not have my oasis to just get out what I was feeling and my opinions. What many don’t understand about my city where it all began is that it’s more than the hot women the amazing atmosphere and the hangout spots, it’s about the places that don’t get enough publicity. It’s about how we get together and show love no matter what. That is why I’m touched when I see hometown heroes successfully make it and never forget where they came from. I make it my business no matter what I’m doing whatever milestones I reach that I let it be known that it’s all about my city. Now you all read the headlines that my Alma Matter and my city has been under attack and you all seen how we clap back! Attacking the Miami Heat is lashing out at the heart of Miami so my full response to the nonsense I will post at a later time but here is my homage to the place I call home. I love you Miami!

Five years I have blogged but I just recently made my baby public and it’s only the beginning, I’m talking about  much more than many have imagined, but it’s time to have some fun because that’s what we do in the M.I.A! I really love my city because we show each other love like no other, and I have to say I was pretty quiet about the Lil Wayne shenanigans because if I were to put out how I really felt this blog would have needed a warning for adult content and a lot of you would have had to watch me let it rip. In all seriousness I’m going to represent in the best way possible and I have to say born in raised in the county of Dade I can’t express how much I truly love my hometown of Miami, Florida. This city of my roots, my education I can’t I just can’t I’m almost speechless now. I am going to show love in every way possible but thanks for riding with me supporting me I love you guys even those from other cities let’s Party!

Now being that today is my Fifth Year on the net man can you believe I had this blog 5 years today? The Day I birthed my baby? Well what other way to celebrate than to see my home city the NBA Champions The Miami Heat get in on the craze called The Harlem Shake? You tell me and have a great time watching with the Birdman, King James, Bosh and just WOW!!

YMCMB hip-hop superstar Lil Wayne has not been having the best of luck lately. To start, during the last night of All Star Weekend at the Beats by Dre after party, Wayne did not hold his tongue as he rallied for the crowd to repeat after him as he expressed his strong dislike for Miami and The Heat.

If that’s not bad enough, after the release of the remix “Karate Chop” by fellow hip-hop artist Future, the public, more specifically, the family of Emmitt Till and civil rights activist, are calling out Wayne for his line that refrenced a comparison of sexual intercourse with a female to the brutal beating that led to Emmitt Till’s death in 1955. Descendants of Emmitt Till wrote a public letter to Wayne expressing their opinions of the importance of respecting the meaning behind Till’s death, the movement that spun from it, and the importance of keeping it sacred.

I don’t know if Wayne is going through a midlife crisis or if he is extremely stressed about the release of “I Am Not A Human Being 2″, but whatever the case may be, his PR team is in a frenzy, I’m sure. And if they aren’t, well, one can’t be too sure of how much more Wayne we will be cheering on in the future.

This is Miss Bliss, giving you another account for “When PR Goes Horribly Wrong”.

The Heat have really starting putting the pieces together these last couple seasons after not getting their Finals Championship two seasons ago. The Heat one the NBA Championship last year giving them one of the few rings the big three promised their fans with the arrival of Lebron and Bosh. The Heat are title contenders if not the favorite to win the NBA Championship this year. Lebron is having a MVP season once again and is shooting at a higher percentage than ever before in his career; that isn’t to say that the other two of the big three are having a poor season. Both Wade and Bosh are shooting at a career high shooting percentage this season.

All three of the big three made it to this years All-star game, which was to be expected in my opinion. And along with making it to the All-star game this year all three of them made the starting lineup for the Eastern Conference. They all contributed to the team significantly during the all star game but the East did not get the win. No matter though the regular season is what really matters and the Heat have what it takes to make it to the top and win another NBA Championship this season.

The Heat are currently on a 12 game winning streak, which is pretty impressive in the NBA. They’re overall record is 43-14. While the Heat minorly struggle on the road with a road record of 16-11, it’s still above .500 which is a good win percentage on the road. At home the Heat are 25-3! On their own court they are almost unbeatable. They are 8-1 in their divison and 20-9 in the Eastern Conference. They are 6 games in front of the Indiana Pacers who are second in the playoff hunt for the Eastern Conference. It’s looking like the Heat basically have a wrap on the number one seed in the Eastern Confernce for the playoffs.

We’ll see how the regular season ends up and what happens in the playoffs.

The 141 points tied a Heat franchise record that was last hit in 1991. Wade tied a career high with 19 field goals in the game and James finished off the month of February as the best shooting month of his career.

In the game, LeBron shot 61 percent from the field and 92 percent from the free throw line en route to 40 points, eight rebounds, and an eye-popping 16 assists in the Kings game. Not to be outdone, Wade finished shooting 68 percent from the field and scored 39 points, had eight rebounds, and seven assists.

“Some great stat lines tonight,” James said. “But I’m happy I was able to do what I did and help our team win.”

Ray Allen came off the bench to hit 50 percent of his three-pointers and scored 21 points, with four rebounds and three assists. Chris Bosh also got into the action scoring 15 points, grabbing eight rebounds, handing out two assists and blocking four shots.

Finally, even the newest Heat player, Chris Andersen, contributed 10 points, 3 rebounds, and one blocked shot.

Overall, the Heat shot 55.4 percent from the field and 79.2 percent from the free throw line. The Heat also had 35 assists to just 12 turnovers in the game, a nearly 3-1 margin.

“They’ve got a couple of guys that can turn the notch up pretty quickly,” Kings coach Keith Smart said. “LeBron and Dwyane played an incredible game. It took a Superman-type game from both of those guys.”

Kings coach Keith Smart said before the game that sometimes “great teams get a little bored with the regular season and they need something to get them going.”

The Heat didn’t seem to be bored by the second overtime.

After a late non-call that James wanted, he simply seemed mad.

James scored inside to open the second extra session, yelling “and one” at referees as his way of insisting he was fouled as well. But after one sensational sequence, the game was pretty much sealed.

“We’re coming together,” James said. “We’re doing it the right way. We’re executing offensively. We’re sharing the ball. And we’re not getting rattled. We’ve been in some crazy games. We just stay the course and figure out a way to get the victory.”

With each passing game, the Heat moves another step closer to the playoffs and the ability to rest James, Wade, Bosh and possibly Allen down the stretch. Still, the Heat are 12-0 to close out the month of February and head into March as the hottest team in the NBA.

The 12-game winning streak is the second-best in team history behind a 14-game winning streak a few years ago. Getting to 14 will be tough for the Heat which has a home game against the Memphis Grizzlies on Friday and then head to New York to battle the Knicks on Sunday.

If Miami can win both of those games, it will look to set the franchise record for consecutive wins in Minneapolis against the Minnesota Timberwolves.

Miami is currently in first place in the Eastern Conference, six games ahead of second-place Indiana. Miami’s win on Tuesday night improved its home record to 25-3 on the season.

But if you’re planning on going to see the Heat play at home, it might be best to get there a little bit early if you want to see the best show of the night. LeBron has been putting on a dunking clinic in recent weeks during warm-ups that have left fans and teammates speechless.

It’s definitely worth fighting through traffic to get to the AAA early to see just how good of a dunker LeBron can be with almost minimal effort.

Here’s what he did ahead of a recent game to wow the crowd in warm-ups.

Photo Credit Getty Images

Pitbull released a new song on Monday that takes aim at another popular figure of hip-hop.

The Miami native’s latest track, “Welcome to Dade County,” is the latest in responses by native Miami rappers that are mad at Lil Wayne’s remarks over the Miami Heat NBA basketball team.  Before Pitbull, Uncle Luke and Trick Daddy both expressed feelings about Wayne.

Recently, Lil Wayne (who owns property in Miami) was kicked out of a Heat game in Miami against the Los Angeles Lakers for what he claims as “cheering for the opposing team.”  Security has a different story, claiming that they saw Wayne make a threatening gesture at another fan.

Wayne’s most recent concert included chants that said “*expletive* Miami.”

“Welcome to Dade County” sample’s Baauer’s Billboard Hot 100 chart topper “Harlem Shake.”  In it, he calls out Wayne and his label mates for their remarks on the team located in a city where they have residence.

“You got money, yeah / yeah, that’s sweet / but we all know Slim and Baby really eat / You talk Miami if you talking Heat / Moral of the story, don’t *expletive* where you eat.”

Lil Wayne has only apologized for his remarks made towards Lebron James, but has yet to respond to Pitbull.

1 – LeBron James

2 – Tony Parker

3 – Kevin Durant

4 – Carmelo Anthony

5 – Chris Paul

6 – James Harden

7 – Kobe Bryant

8 – Dwyane Wade

9 – Russell Westbrook

10 – Paul George

(www.nba.com/mvp-ladder/2012-13/index.html)

 This ranking is done on a weekly basis depending on results and performance.

 In my opinion there are four challengers for the MVP title this year; Lebron James, Kevin Durant, Chris Paul and Tony Parker.

There are a few ways which people look at how the voting should go, one is that the award should go to the best player in the league, the other says that the award, which by definition is the Most Valuable Player, should go to the best player on the team with the best record. I would also add that a player who has basically carried a team for the entire season and who has got them into a championship contending team deserves a mention. (The likes of Carmelo Anthony)

Lebron James

Stats: Team 0.741 win percentage, leading the Eastern Conference.

(26.4 PPG, 8.1 RPG, 7.1 APG, 1.6 SPG)

 The reigning and 3 time MVP LeBron James is the strong favourite for this year’s award once again, which will tie him with Wilt Chamberlain on 4 awards. He is in the midst of his best ever season and seems to only be getting better; shooting 55% from the field and 39% from 3-PT range, which are both career highs.

All the key stats lead towards Lebron being the favourite this year once again. The Heat are +9.6 with LeBron James on the floor, contrast that to a -7.3 deficit when he is not on the floor. That’s a swing of 16.9 points between when he is playing or resting.

 Even when looking at player efficiency rating, which is likely the most popular stat used to determine the MVP, James is ahead of everyone else with 31.5. (PER involves a complicated formula that determines a player’s per-minute productivity)

 When you look at the stats it is very difficult to argue for anyone else over Lebron, however the only argument I could think to make is that with the supporting cast of Wade and Bosh, who are top 5 and top 15 players respectively, if you took Lebron out of the team they would still be a threat.

Kevin Durant 

Stats: Team 0.732 win percentage, 2^nd in the western conference

29.5 PPG, 7.5 RPG, 4.4 APG, 1.6 SPG, 1.3 BPG

 Durant is having yet another outstanding season and will no doubt win an MVP title in the near future, however I don’t believe this is his year. He’s improved on defence, and he’s averaging a career high in assists and utilizing his length on rebounds.

He has the 2^nd best efficiency rating in the league, with +30.82 and is the leading scorer in the league. However I still don’t feel he does enough on that team. He should be taking more shots and taking control of the Thunder offence far more in the 4^th quarter. For me this is why he is not my number one candidate for the MVP title. Having said that, if they can gain the best overall record at the end of the season and KD continues to do what he has been doing then he will be a more dangerous contender than he is currently.

When he becomes slightly more selfish, taking shots away from Westbrook in the regular season, and builds up his defensive skill set more, he will become the MVP and arguably the best player in the league.

 Chris Paul 

Stats: Team 0.690 winning percentage, 3^rd in the western conference

16.6 PPG, 9.7 APG, 2.6 SPG

Chris Paul has been one of my favourite players to watch all season long, and when he was out injured the games that the Clippers played were just not as exciting, nor did they play as well. CP3 is up there with the best point guards in the league and is a top 5 passer of the ball in my opinion. His down fall will come in terms of the standings, I doubt they will be able to overtake the Spurs or OKC and as such Tony Parker and Kevin Durant will have better chances of winning. He is undoubtedly the Clippers MVP this season however and they should do everything they can to resign him.

Tony Paker

Stats: Team 0.776 win percentage, 1^st in the Western Conference, best record in the NBA

21.1 PPG, 3.10 RBG, 7.6 APG

Finally Tony Parker is getting the recognition he deserves! I’ve been advocating for him to be in the MVP conversation all season and it has recently come into fruition. His recent performance against the Clippers and his match-up against Chris Paul showed why he is still an elite player in this league.

If you are voting on the premise that the MVP should go to the best player on the team with the best record, then Tony Parker is currently that guy. He runs the Spurs offence tremendously well on a consistent basis. His 7.6 APG don’t tell the full story of his ball distribution. He makes plays to open up the opponents defence and makes his team mates better whenever he’s on the court.

Similar to the only issue I could argue against Lebron winning the award is that the supporting cast Parker has consists of Duncan and Ginoblli among others and a coach in Greg Popovich who is arguably the best in the league. If you took Parker out of the line-up they would still be a play-off team, but not the title contenders they otherwise are.

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Miami has dominated the Kings in recent contest and hasn’t gone down to defeat since a February 1 loss against the Indiana Pacers. Miami is beating opponents by an average of 12.9 points per game during the current 11 game winning streak.

Essentially, in the NBA, if you’re looking for a good month to play in Miami, don’t choose February. Over the last three Februarys since LeBron James and Chris Bosh joined forces with Dwyane Wade, the Heat has compiled a 31-6 record during that month.

“This is when we make our mark, become legends or whatever the case may be,” said James, who earned his 42nd player of the week award Monday – the most in NBA history. “This is the best time of the year. We understand that spring is on its way and we’re gearing up for it. We’re playing some really, really good ball right now as a team.”

While James mentioned the team, his game has continued to hit unprecedented levels. During the current streak, James is averaging 28.9 points per game and is shooting a phenomenal 65.5 percent from the floor.

The Heat had a scare on Sunday when Cleveland erased a 22-point lead and forced the Heat to rally from eight points down with less than five minutes to play. Miami did complete the comeback and finished off the Cavs 109-105.

“We found a way,” said Wade. “In the fourth, you just find it. … We just turned that other switch on.”

The fact that the Heat are starting to hit their stride as the playoffs near in April is the worst thing opposing coaches can hear from the Heat. Miami coasted through the first half of the season and still walked away with the best record in the Eastern Conference.

As the season has worn on, Dwyane Wade has seen his game return to what it was before he was injured last year. Wade hit for 24 points, including 11 in the final 4:50 against the Cavaliers.

It’s not as if Miami has struggled to put away the Kings in the past. Miami beat Sacramento 128-99 in early January riding Mario Chalmers for 34 points in the game. The Kings have lost five straight and 13 of its last 16 entering Tuesday’s game.

(TM and © Copyright 2013 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2013 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

Image from bleacherreport.com

The Heat are currently on a 11 game winning streak and are seemingly unstoppable. As Lebron continues to play at the top of his game, the Heat are on a hunt for the best record in the NBA closely behind the 41-15 Thunder and 45-13 Spurs. If Lebron keeps dominating why would the Heat not keeping winning. Lebron James, Dwayne Wade, and Chris Bosh they are stacked and it is almost unfair. I personally strongly dislike the Heat and hope they make it to the NBA Finals only to lose to the Lakers. But we all know that this a is a long shot and will most likely not happen. So who will end the Heat win streak? Chances are the Kings won’t next week… but maybe the Grizzlies? Or the Knicks? Hopefully someone can defeat them and try to take away some of the Heats momentum. Comment below who you think will take down the Heat.

The current streak has featured blowouts of top teams like the Oklahoma City Thunder and a complete annihilation of the Chicago Bulls, but also a couple of weaker performances against the Charlotte Bobcats and the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Miami’s 11-game winning streak has helped push the Heat to the top of the Eastern Conference with a 40-14 record on the season. The Heat now leads the Indiana Pacers by six games and the New York Knicks by six-and-a-half games.

The Heat has pulled it together despite a 16-11 road record. Miami is 8-1 against teams in the Southeast Division and 20-9 against Eastern Conference foes. Where Miami excels is inside the AmericanAirlines Arena. The Heat is 24-3 on the season at the AAA.

“We’re a veteran ballclub and we’ve been in every situation that an NBA game can offer us,” James said. “We don’t get too high, we don’t get too low, we just play the 48 minutes out and see where it takes us.”

That calm demeanor has masked a determined Heat group set to prove that 2012 was no fluke and that they are the best team in the NBA.

Led by LeBron’s record-setting season, the Heat has four players averaging in double-figures this season. LeBron is averaging 27 points, 8.1 rebounds, and 7.1 assists per game. Dwyane Wade is averaging 21.2 points, 4.9 rebounds, and 4.7 assists; while Chris Bosh and Ray Allen are averaging 17.1 and 10.8 points per game respectively.

During the eleven game winning streak, the Heat have given up more than 100 points just four times and held the Bulls to just 67 points last Thursday in an 86-67 defensive masterpiece.

The Heat has a game against Sacramento Tuesday night followed by another home game against the Memphis Grizzlies. The Heat then head out on the road to play New York and Minnesota before returning to the AAA to play Orlando, Philly, Indiana, and Atlanta.

If Miami can get past the Kings, Grizzlies, and Knicks, the current team will tie the 2004-2005 Heat squad for the franchise’s longest winning streak at 14 straight. A victory over Minnesota would break the record if the Heat get to that point.